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CIA director John Ratcliffe Been to Venezuela Meeting with acting President Delcy Rodriguez, becoming the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit the South American country since the U.S. raid that captured former leader Nicolás Maduro.
Thursday’s meeting in the capital, Caracas, lasted two hours, according to a U.S. government official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday.
The official said the meeting was held at the urging of the president Donald Trump It is intended to show that the United States wants to build better relations with Venezuela. On the same day, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado awarded Trump the Nobel Peace Medal at the convention. White House Even if he has effectively marginalized her.
Ratcliffe’s visit could be seen as another sign of Trump’s willingness to work with Rodriguez. Rodriguez had been Maduro’s deputy until a bold U.S. military operation two weeks ago sent him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
The visit, which included a small group of U.S. officials and was first reported by The New York Times, was intended to lay the groundwork for further cooperation between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s new leadership, the official said.
The official said Ratcliffe discussed potential economic cooperation between the two countries and warned that Venezuela could never again allow U.S. adversaries, including drug traffickers, to exist.
U.S. officials say the CIA played a key role in the operation to capture Maduro, providing critical intelligence support and launching an earlier drone strike on a dock used by the cartel.
Rodriguez delivered her first State of the Union address as acting president on Thursday, advocating for opening the key state oil industry to more foreign investment after the Trump administration pledged to rein in Venezuelan crude sales.